The Mermaid Tale
by storylover sam
Summary: Daphne is a mermaid who is fascinated with humans. So when she meets Shaggy, she's thrilled. But their worlds are too different and may just tear them apart...Sorry, poor summary. Please give it a chance!
1. Chapter 1 Daphne the Mermaid

The Mermaid Tale

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scooby Doo or any of the characters associated with him.

**Chapter One** – Daphne the Mermaid

"Daphne? Daphne? Where are you?" called Velma and she looked round Daphne's door. Her room was empty. Velma sighed. Well, if Daphne wasn't in her room, there was only one other place she'd be. Velma left the room, went along the corridor and headed off out of the undersea kingdom. Yes, she was a mermaid as was her friend, Daphne. The undersea kingdom was hidden from the human world deep underwater and the one main rule that mermaids were to follow, above everything else, was that they not show themselves to the humans. Humans were dangerous: they stole fish from the oceans and replaced them with poisonous substances. Humans weren't to be trusted so under no circumstances was any creature to break the water's surface and talk to one.

Velma had always followed this strict rule but Daphne…was very curious about humans and spent many hours above the water's surface, staring at the land. Oh, she never went near a human – she wasn't so stupid as to do that – but she went to a hidden little area where she could gaze at the boats yet never be seen. If Velma ever needed to find Daphne, she could count on finding her there. She swam for about 20 minutes until she reached it. This place really acted as a border: the palace faced the open ocean where anyone could go but behind it was a long line of land, forming a long island, and on the other side was human-occupied water which led to their little port-town. The mermaids never went into the human waters and the humans never went past the island border. They had enough water to swim and sail in.

The area Daphne went to was a little break in the island. It was like a little circle of rocks, with many rocks around underwater to hide behind. Enough land grew round the edges so that trees could surround it and shelter it, and overhanging branches and leaves created overhanging vine 'curtains'. So anyone in the area was well hidden on all sides. There were only two ways in (there were too many trees to be able to walk on the island): on the human side, there was a hidden little channel surrounded by vines which led to the clearing Daphne always went to; and from the ocean side, you had to swim through an underwater channel that few knew about as it was also well hidden. Daphne had only discovered it by accident when she was little and she loved it as she could be there peacefully without being disturbed.

Velma was swimming through the underwater channel when she heard it. That beautiful note. That song which could easily belong to a siren, a beautiful mermaid-like creature who sang to men on ships during a storm and would lure them to their deaths. Smiling, she followed the sound until she came to the clearing and broke surface. And there was Daphne, just a few feet ahead of her. In the middle of the clearing were some large, flat-ish rocks and this was where Daphne usually sat. Indeed, there she sat singing and brushing her hair – she hadn't yet noticed Velma. She didn't actually see her until Velma was right next to her and tapped her shoulder.

"_Velma_! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Daphne cried, putting down her brush and glaring at her friend. Velma laughed and Daphne's face softened. She could never really be mad at Velma as she was, really, her only friend and often helped her keep out of trouble. "So why are you here? You only come here when you're looking for me and you feel uncomfortable when you come above the water's surface so I'm guessing it's urgent?"

"You bet it is!" said Velma. "It's your father – he wants you. You were supposed to meet him earlier for lunch, remember? With your new fiancé, I might add." Daphne's face fell and Velma sighed. "You know sometimes, Daphne, I don't understand you. If I was going to be married to someone as handsome as Freddy, I'd be thrilled. But you…you'd rather be here, staring across the water and watching the humans while they fish and swim and destroy everything."

Although the trees and vines hid the clearing from sight, anyone inside could easily look out and Daphne spent hours staring out at the humans, wondering what it'd be like to be among them. "Seriously, what is it with you and humans? You're fascinated by them! Why? They're monsters! They're cutting down their own world and slowly poisoning ours!"

"They're not that bad!" argued Daphne. "Yes, they do bad things but so does everybody! And they might not all agree with it. I mean, it's not as if anyone has ever talked to one and found out, is it? Who knows? There might _actually_ be some nice humans."

Velma laughed. "If you really believe that, then you're crazier than I thought!"

"Hey! I'm not crazy."

"All right," Velma conceded. "Not crazy. Naïve, then. You believe everyone is nice and that the world's good but _trust_ me, it's not all rainbows and seahorses! There are some bad lobsters out there – some _real_ sharks!"

"Not all sharks are bad. Why, the nurse shark is rather small and tends to stay near the sea bed, feeding on the small creatures there."

"Okay, fair enough. But most sharks you would try and avoid, yes?"

Daphne frowned. "Well, I…can't argue with that."

"Right. Well, the same goes for humans. You may be right in the fact that there are _some_ nice ones but I bet the vast majority are dangerous – so stay away!"

"You know, they say that fear of something is just ignorance. If you don't understand something, you're probably gonna be more afraid of it. And let's face it, we know next to nothing about humans."

"That's not always true. I know loads about sharks and I try to avoid them at all cost!"

"Well, that's just common sense," argued Daphne.

"Exactly! And it's common sense to stay away from humans."

Daphne went to make a retort but stopped herself. "I'm not gonna win, am I? No matter what I say, you're either just gonna twist my words or ignore them altogether, am I right?"

"At last! You're right about something! But seriously though, Daphne, stay away from the humans! I don't want you getting hurt or taken away. If they saw you, Daphne, they _would_ take you away! It's said that humans do experiments on animals and I don't want that to happen to you! Now, come on. Your father sent me to find you and remind you about lunch. Let's go before we _both_ get into trouble. It wouldn't do to keep your father and fiancé waiting for too long."

"Okay, I'm coming." Daphne watched her friend dive under the water before picking up her tiara and putting it on. She took one last glance at the human town before going after her friend. Velma was right: it wouldn't do to keep the king waiting or her fiancé, Prince Fredrick…


	2. Chapter 2 Shaggy the Human

The Mermaid Tale

**Chapter Two** – Shaggy the Human

"Come on, Rhaggy! Re gotta go rishing!" said Scooby, shaking his master and friend. Shaggy groaned. "Urrrgh. Fishing?"

"Reah! Come on!" and Scooby left the room so Shaggy could get up and dressed. He headed to the kitchen so as to make breakfast. Groggily, Shaggy got up and started getting ready for the day. He and Scooby rented out a small apartment but they still struggled with the rent. As well as still attending school, Shaggy also worked shifts at the local convenience store as well as doing odd jobs around the town like cleaning cars and windows, and at the weekends when he had no shifts at the store, he and Scooby went out in their little rowing boat and tried to catch as many fish as possible – the fish shop paid a lot of money for any fish that they brought in.

The guys often kept some of the smaller fish they caught to have as their dinner – Shaggy was a great cook and his favourite class in school was Hospitality. He was the only boy in the class (which made his life slightly difficult) but he was the best in the class: cooking, presentation, hygiene standards and how to store food properly. It was really the only class he excelled in. He hoped to be a chef someday but none of the cafes or restaurants in town were interested. They had all the cooks they needed. The only offers he got was waiting on tables but, after trying it for a few weeks, he grew to hate it. Being ordered about by both the kitchen and the tables, and having to deal with difficult customers, made his life miserable.

The kids at school didn't help. Shaggy was pretty much an outsider and a loser, and the kids enjoyed making him miserable. Taking a 'girly' class (Hospitality) led to him often being called a girl. His long, messy hair and long green T-shirt were always favourites for mocking. One bully, who in particular seemed to hate Shaggy, had actually pulled Shaggy's pants off and had Shaggy laughed out of the school for wearing a green 'dress'. The bully, Jim, had been expelled but when no-one backed up Shaggy's story and as no teachers had seen Jim do it, he was let back into school.

When Shaggy had been waiting on tables, the kids had often come in and been deliberately difficult _just_ to annoy him and put his job in jeopardy. One time, Jim tripped him up whilst he was cleaning tables and the whole tray of plates fell and broke on the floor. He'd lost his wages that week in order to pay for new plates. Shaggy eventually quit as he couldn't take any more but he couldn't escape them at school. They also knew how he struggled for money and laughed at him for being poor. Again, Jim made things difficult by drawing over Shaggy's stuff and throwing his things onto the wet bathroom floor, leaving Shaggy with the option of going around with damaged stuff or spending rent and food money on replacing the damaged objects.

At least when he was out in his boat, he could get away from everyone and just relax with his best friend, Scooby. The boat was really the only thing that Shaggy owned and was proud of. He'd saved for months in order to buy it. And now he could lie back and relax with Scooby right next to him – their fishing rods were set up so they didn't have to watch them, just wait for a sign that the fish had taken the bait.

It was a nice day out but windy – very windy – and the sea was rougher than usual. Shaggy had his waterproof jacket on, just in case, and he even had a jacket for Scooby. They set sail and had to work harder than usual to battle the waves. "Hey," panted Shaggy, rowing furiously. "We're getting there, Scoob. We nearly out."

But unfortunately, things got more difficult. Once they got further out, the waves seemed to turn and began pushing them out further towards the sea. "Eh…You know what, Scoob? Today's not good – let's head back and try later," said Shaggy, beginning to panic. They changed over and tried to row back to the shore but the waves just kept pushing them towards the island. Nobody ever went past it as it led to the open ocean and nobody could survive in a little boat like theirs. However, they were heading straight for a rocky bit (around the centre of the island) where they were sure to get stuck and the island was far enough away from the shore that nobody would see them unless they were sailing right nearby. Due to the rough weather, no-one else had dared to go out.

Scooby suddenly noticed a curtain of vines and it seemed clear behind. "Rhaggy! Rook!" and he pointed to the vines. "Huh?" asked Shaggy and he looked. "Hey…Like, there seems to be a break in the trees – no telling what's behind it but…well, it's either that or crash into the rocks everywhere else." They looked at each other and then started rowing furiously, trying to steer the boat towards the vines.

They finally reached it and managed to glide through the vines. Almost at once, the water calmed down and they found themselves in a little channel that seemed to stretch on and on. Overhanging vines blocked their view so they couldn't see where it led. "Well," said Shaggy," either we sit here and wait for the waves to die down – which could take ages – or we go along here and see where this goes. What do you say?"

"Hhmmm…Ret's try the rhannel." So they set off down the channel, pushing vines out the way so they could get through. The trees and vines were so close together on either side that the boat was protected from the wind outside and it was rather dark inside. The little boat sailed calmly along the water, making its way through the shadows and vines. "Where do you think this leads, Scoob…?"


	3. Chapter 3 And So They Meet

The Mermaid Tale

**Chapter Three** – And So They Meet…

It was as the little boat was sailing that a hauntingly beautiful sound came to them. The two in the boat froze and listened to the song. What a voice, thought Shaggy. Who on earth could _that_ be?

The vines stopped and they sailed along, able to see the end of the channel. And there at the end, sitting in the middle of a clearing on some rocks, was the most beautiful girl they had ever seen. Shaggy and Scooby stared in wonder. It was the girl that was singing – she had her back to them and was brushing her hair while staring out towards the town and singing. The boat sailed right into the clearing and neared the rocks where the girl sat. Scooby stuck out the oars to slow it down so they wouldn't hit the rocks and the girl heard the splash as they hit the water. She spun round and stared at the two visitors in the boat. And they stared right back. They figured she must have come here to swim – a rock hid her from the waist down but they saw she was wearing a purple, strapless bikini top. Although they didn't know why she'd bring a brush if she was just going swimming…

Daphne had just returned from her lunch appointment with her father and fiancé, Fred. It wasn't that she disliked Fred: he was nice and polite and everything but, when she was with him, there was just no…spark. There was just nothing. She always struggled to converse with Fred as they didn't seem to have anything in common – except being heir to the throne – and his visits only resulted with her being bored and looking forward to him leaving.

As always, she had gone straight to her little haven where she could sit and sing and marvel at the human world. She was so enthralled in what she was doing that she didn't even notice the boat until Scooby splashed the water. A human and a dog, in one of those little boats with the stick things either side, had managed to find their way in. Daphne couldn't believe it. She was facing an _actual_ real human, just a few feet away. He also seemed amazed – both he and the dog stared at her, obviously shocked to find someone here.

Nervously, he gulped and took a deep breath before saying, "…Hi." He stretched out a shaky hand. "I…" Daphne stiffened, suddenly afraid. Velma's words had just come into her mind. _"They're monsters!... I bet the vast majority are dangerous… If they saw you, Daphne, they _would_ take you away!...humans do experiments on animals…"_ And here was a human reaching out to her. Would he experiment on her? Normally, she would have scoffed at the idea but after having that serious talk with Velma so recently, she couldn't help but feel scared.

So she did what her instincts told her: she dived head first into the water and hid behind the rock she'd been sitting on. She looked out and saw that neither person in the boat had moved. Daphne stared longingly at them. How she _wished_ she could speak to them. Her one wish was to meet a human and get to know them and find out whether they were really as bad as everyone thought. And here was one, just a few feet away and who had seen her. If only she could pluck up the nerve – all mermaids, while growing up, had had the picture of humans being dangerous drilled into their heads via stories and rumours and whispers.

But they were just old fish-tales – there was no actual proof. Daphne had never really believed in them. Why, humans weren't all that different from them! The boy had turned back to the dog, who she assumed was his pet. Both humans and mermaids kept pets – they also built homes for themselves, had families and friends, and went to work. They were really quite similar. Thinking like this helped her swim towards the boat and let her raise her head just slightly above the water so that her nose showed. She stared, trying to pluck up the nerve to speak.

Meanwhile, Shaggy and Scooby were in a state of shock. They'd been surprised to find a girl here as no-one came to the island and they hadn't recognised her from the town. The town was small enough that you knew pretty much anyone – besides, he would have surely noticed her at school as she looked the right age to still be attending school. Maybe she was from another town but that didn't explain how she'd gotten to this island: Where was her boat? It was too far from shore and too dangerous to swim here. And any new arrivals in town were soon heard of – news spread fast in small towns.

Then she'd leaped into the water and they'd seen her lower half, the half that the rock had hidden. A tail. A long, scaly, purple tail. A mermaid. But surely mermaids didn't exist? thought Shaggy. He suddenly noticed he was still holding his arm out and drew it back in. Turning round to face Scooby, he spluttered, "D-D-Did you see…? Was that…? ..._Huh_?"

Scooby didn't answer. He couldn't. He was just as amazed as Shaggy. Turning to look into the water, he spotted Daphne – and reacted so swiftly, he gave everyone a shock. He leaned right over the edge of the boat till his nose was almost touching hers. Scared, Daphne dived under the boat. Scooby turned as he watched her go, lost his balance and fell into the water. He floated underneath for a moment and stared at Daphne, who was facing him from underneath the boat, before Shaggy grabbed one of his paws and pulled him up.

Getting Scooby into the boat without capsizing proved to be difficult. Shaggy got very wet whilst trying to get his friend in. It was only with a little help that he managed to get Scooby back into the boat. Daphne had seen they were struggling and her natural reaction was to help. She pushed Scooby up until he was in and then leaned on the edge of the boat, checking to make sure he was all right.

Shaggy, after checking Scooby was okay, turned back to the girl. They stared at each other before Shaggy said "Thank you." She smiled at him and said, "You're welcome."

Scooby popped up then and licked Daphne's face. "Rhank you!"

She giggled. "You're welcome. It's not every day I get to help someone."

"You speak English?"

"Yes. Er…I'm Daphne. Who are you?"

"I'm Shaggy and this is my dog, Scooby…Like, are you really a mermaid? Because they don't exist, right?"

Daphne smiled. "Oh, we exist all right. We just don't let humans see us. You're the first human that I've ever spoken to. Why, this is probably the closest _any_ mermaid has gotten to a human."

"Cool. So I'm, like, the first human to ever meet a mermaid? Why's that? Do you believe we're dangerous?" Daphne bit her lip, not wanting to hurt his feelings. "I'm right, aren't I? That's okay. It's true we don't treat the ocean very well – or the land, for that matter. We're quite stupid in that sense."

"You don't agree with what they're doing?" asked Daphne, pleased that she may have found a nice human.

"Well, no," answered Shaggy. "I hate what they're doing. They're destroying homes both on land and in the sea. And it's not right! I can understand why you avoid us."

"Well, you don't seem so bad." He smiled at the compliment. "Thanks."

"Rello?" Scooby was tired of being ignored. Daphne looked at him and asked a question. "I'm curious. How are you talking? Most animals can talk but they never do in front of humans. Why do you talk in front of Shaggy?"

"Rell…Re's my best friend. I love him. Re's raised me from a rup. I trust him."

"Hm. I have that, too. I've a pet that I absolutely adore and she loves me as well. She's my best friend. Well, one of them – Velma is another friend."

"Velma? Who's...?"

"Oh! She's another mermaid. Strange thing is, although we're friends, we're very different. I find humans very interesting but she believes all the myths and stories about how they're dangerous and killing the oceans and conduct experiments on animals and-" She stopped, afraid she's said too much.

Shaggy looked sheepish. "Yeah, I know. It's cruel. But there are many against animal testing and a lot of activists protest about it-"

"Activists?" asked Daphne. She'd never heard the word before. "Yeah. They're people who, if they're against something, will protest and rebel to try and change it. Like those who oppose animal testing – they might hold demonstrations, and they might group outside the place and yell at the people – they just generally find ways to try and get in the way, to stop them."

"Oh, well that's good, isn't it?"

"N…not always. Sometimes they cross the line and are arrested. Sad as it is, the big bosses can get away with it if they cover themselves well and if the activists play into their hands."

"Have you ever done any 'activist-ing'? Have you ever been arrested or in trouble?" asked Daphne, in an admiring tone. They couldn't help smiling at her newly created word 'activist-ing'. Shaggy shook his head. "No. I've never done that – actually, I've never really been in trouble with anyone." They continued to talk like this: Shaggy and Scooby on one side of the boat, and Daphne leaning on the opposite side. They asked questions about each other's lives and how different things were. Daphne finally got to ask about all the things she'd seen in the town over the years: the big metal boxes that carried people were called 'cars', the poles along the street that lit up at night were called 'streetlamps', and that the place where all the boats were lined up was called a jetty. Shaggy, in turn, learned that: all the mermaids lived in an underwater palace nearby, were ruled over by King George, and that the mermaids' version of a car was a carriage pulled by giant seahorses.

It wasn't until the sun started to sink that they finally stopped talking. They hadn't realised how long they'd been talking – but they were about to find out! For Velma, who had been kept at the palace all day and hiding the fact that Daphne was missing, had finally got away and was busy swimming towards Daphne's secret cove.

Seeing Daphne's purple tail, she broke the surface and began ranting, not noticing the boat or Daphne's new friends. "Daphne! Where the _hell_ have you been? I've been covering for you all day! Do you know, your father has been trying to find you for _hours_? He wants to talk to you about the flowers – he needs to know how you want them to be arranged. And he wants to organise who you're inviting and where they're sitting. Obviously, he's invited all the important people but he still wants your opinion and wants to know if there are any friends you want to invite. Have you even _looked_ at the guest list yet? I doubt it – even though you've had it for almost _two weeks_! I kept having to put him off by saying you'd gone for a walk or were in your room, trying things on, or were helping out in the palace but he's just stopped believing me because I've come up with so many excuses. You _have_ to come back to the palace, Daphne! Please, I'm _begging_ you! I…"

Velma went stiff as she suddenly noticed the two newcomers. She stared at them, looking terrified, before making a sound that resembled something between a yelp and a squeal – and disappeared with a splash. The other three stood gazed at where she'd been. "Who was that?" asked Shaggy.

"Er…that was-" Daphne started to explain, but felt a hand on her arm and found herself being dragged under. "Velma! What are you-" For Velma had now grabbed her hand and was dragging her away from the boat and around the rocks, hidden from sight. "Come on, Daphne! We've got to go!"

"No, Velma!" and she wrenched her wrist from Velma's grasp. "I'm not going _anywhere_! I just met some nice humans and I-"

"What? You were actually _talking_ to them? Daphne, are you _insane_? What have I told you about humans? Remember all the stories we've been told about them? They're _dangerous_! You can't trust them!"

"Velma – calm down! First of all, I never believed all those stories. We know nothing about humans and, like I said, you're more likely to be scared of something you don't understand. Secondly…when do I ever listen to you? Especially about humans?" Velma nodded. That was true – Daphne never listened to anyone. "And thirdly, I've talked to them and they seem really nice. I've asked questions about their world and I finally got to find out what all the things are. Like those big boxes that carry humans about? They're called 'cars'. Isn't that cool? And in return, I told them a little bit about myself and our world."

"What? You told them about us? What if they call the other humans and they come hunt us down? I knew your fascination with humans wouldn't go well."

"I didn't tell him where the palace was! He'd have to find it first and he has no way of coming under the water. I know humans swim but the palace is too far down for them to reach. They'd never find it! And besides…they seem trustworthy."

"Oh, well, that's all right then! They're 'trustworthy'. Well, why don't you just tell them that you're the daughter of a king and that he'd pay a handsome sum if you were – let's say – missing?"

Daphne frowned. "Oh, Velma. That's not gonna happen. They really seem nice. But hey, a little proof. Only one is a human – the other is his pet dog. And he talks to them. Now generally animals don't talk to humans as they can't trust them with the secret. But this dog _really_ trusts Shaggy. Don't you think that means something?"

"Shaggy? That's an unusual name, isn't it? But maybe it's an average human name. They're so different from us. But you really think he's trustworthy?"

"Yes! He seems really nice and his dog's really cute – hmm, maybe I could introduce him to Crystal? But maybe first I could introduce them to you?"

"What, _me_? No way! I'm not going near _any_ human. No matter how trustworthy he seems or how cute his dog is – I don't care!"

"Well…you could wave from a distance while I introduce you? Please?" Velma studied her friend's face for a few seconds before sighing. "Fine. I'll stay here and you can introduce us. But don't go too close! I still don't trust them."

"Velma, I've been leaning on the side of the boat and have been right close to them for hours – and they haven't tried to experiment on me yet!" And with that, she swam towards the boat. Before breaking surface, she turned to Velma and nodded her head. Velma reluctantly swam to the surface and peeked out from behind the rocks. Smiling, Daphne spoke to Shaggy and Scooby. "Guys! I'd like you to meet my friend Velma, who's a little reluctant to come closer as we've been raised to avoid humans and she's scared of you. Velma, this is Shaggy and Scooby." She pointed to each in turn. "Like, hi!" Reah, hi! Rice to reet you."

"Yes, hello," said Velma. "Er, Daphne? I know you want to stay but your father _really_ needs to see you and I'm sure that…Shaggy and Scooby here need to go home."

"Oh, yeah, we do," said Shaggy, suddenly realising the time. "Oh, no! We haven't any fish! We come out here every weekend to catch fish and earn a little extra money – no chance now."

"Oh, um…I could get you some," Daphne suggested. "Although we live in the sea and are friends with fish, we do still eat fish. If you come back tomorrow, I could give you some."

"Really?" cried Scooby, delighted. "Gee, Daphne, like that'd be great. And actually, I was wondering if we could see you again. When should we come?"

"Em…same time as you arrived today?"

"Okay. That'll be great. See you then." And Shaggy and Scooby began turning the boat so they could head off. Daphne had wanted to stay behind and wave them good-bye but Velma had other ideas. She took her hand and dragged her home, where King George was found in a right mood, wondering where his daughter had been all day…

**Notes**: Sorry! I kinda struggled with this chapter – I hope it's okay? Please tell me what you think.

Also, someone commented about Shaggy being bullied? I know it's horrible but there's a reason for it – it's an important part of the story – and it has a happy ending.


	4. Chapter 4 You Met Who!

The Mermaid Tale

**Notes**: First of all, sorry I haven't written for a while but it's been exam season for the last month and I was too busy to write but now the exams are over and I can get back to fanfiction.

Second of all, I made a couple mistakes last chapter. Near the end when Scooby's talking, it should actually have been Shaggy but you could probably tell from his speech – small mistake but it's driving me crazy. 2nd mistake is Daphne's friend 'Crystal' – it should actually be 'Amber'.

Amber's the alien dog that Scooby fell for in _Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders_. I liked Amber and, like Scooby, she's a talking dog. Crystal's not in this, though – just Amber.

**Chapter Four** – "You Met _Who_?"

"Oh, hi, Daphne!" said Amber, turning to see Daphne and Velma entering the room. Amber was Daphne's pet dogfish and her other best friend. Her front half was just like a golden retriever but instead of two back legs, she had a golden tail shaped like a dolphin's. Daphne had had her since she was born and told her everything – unlike Velma, Amber totally agreed with Daphne about most things and especially about humans. She really wanted to meet her land counterpart and see what dogs were like.

"Hi, Amber. Guess what? I've got a secret to tell you!" gushed Daphne, clapping her hands together.

"Yes. A very dangerous one," said Velma, with her hands on her hips. "Daphne's only done and gone the unthinkable – if her father finds out, we'll _all_ be in trouble!"

"What's she done?" asked Amber. "Did she go to that sunken ship again and get caught pretending she was a human on board before it sank?"

"No."

"Did she touch her father's crown, drop it and break it?"

"Hey! That was an _accident_! And I was only ten!"

"Did she dress up in human clothes that she's been collecting over the years and get caught?"

"No. And I've only dressed up a couple times!"

"Did she once again say that she dreamed of becoming a _human_ when she grew up?"

"Okay. I was _six_ when that happened – I didn't know any better!"

"Yes…You didn't know how your father would react either. _That_ was a row to remember! Anyway, did you…Oh! Did you get caught going above the surface in human waters?" asked Amber, gravely.

"Don't be ridiculous! I may like humans and risk going above the surface but I'm not _that_ stupid!...I've never been caught for that," said Daphne, proudly. She could have sworn she heard Velma mutter "yet".

"Okay, then…" pondered Amber. What else could she have done? She stiffened. "You didn't tell anyone you hate Prince Fred and don't want to get married…did you?"

"Never!" cried Daphne. "I would never dare! It's bad enough thinking that but saying it out loud…"

"It's much worse than that," said Velma.

"Oh, really? Worse than hurting a prince, humiliating your father and our king, and stopping the two kingdoms from uniting – which could lead to total shame and ruin for both kingdoms? What could _possibly_ be worse than that?" scoffed Amber, turning away to sort her things. She couldn't imagine anything worse than that.

"Daphne…has met a human."

Amber dropped the picture-frame she was holding and spun round. "Oh, dear God, no!" She grabbed the picture-frame before it hit the floor and placed it on her shelf before turning to Daphne. "Are you serious? Your father will _kill_ you if he finds out! Wow…this _is_ worse than him finding out you don't want to get married."

"Hush!" hissed Daphne. "You just said yourself what would happen if anyone finds these things out! Now – this human is a guy called Shaggy-"

"Ooooh…A guy? Interesting. And Shaggy? That's an unusual name, isn't it? Hhmm. Maybe it's a human name."

"That's what I said," said Velma. "She's also met his dog, too. He was in the boat with him."

Amber gasped. "A _dog_? Really? What was he like?"

"They didn't seem any different from us," smiled Daphne. "And the dog talks! He talks with the human so he must be quite trust-worthy."

"Or the dog's just too trusting," said Velma. "That dog might just talk to anyone."

"Oh, who cares?" cried Amber. "Daphne, this is so exciting! Did you ask them their names? What did you say to them?"

"Shaggy is the human and the dog is called Scooby."

"Ooh, Scooby," mused Amber. "Cute name! And what are they like?"

"_Sooooo_ great! They're really nice – I agreed to meet them again!"

Amber gasped, then squealed. "Oh, _really_? Can I come? I wanna meet them! Can I please come?"

"Wh-Are you insane?" cried Velma. "You're actually hoping to _meet_ them? God, you're as bad as Daphne! You do know you're taking a big risk by going to meet them – not only could they be dangerous but if you're caught by one of the guards…Oh, I'm just gonna stop bothering! Nothing I say is gonna make any difference or change your minds, is it?"

"Nope," was the answer from both.

"Okay," sighed Velma. "Fine. You both go tomorrow and meet these strangers and risk getting caught! I don't want anything to do with it. I'm not getting involved."

"But you won't tell anyone, will you?" asked Amber.

"I'm not getting involved and I don't know anything about it!" said Velma. "And I'm surprised you even needed to ask that – I'd never rat on a friend. Try not to get caught tomorrow." And with that, she let the room.

Daphne and Amber smiled at each other. "I know she can be a bit…cautious but she's a good friend really," said Daphne. "So! I'll take you to meet them tomorrow. We've gotta get ready! Oh, fish!"

Amber stared at her. "…Fish?"

"Yeah! They only went sailing to get some fish but then they met me and totally forgot. So I promised I'd get them some fish."

"O…kay? Well, if you want some help catching fish, I'm willing to lend a hand."

"Gee, thanks! Come on, let's go get some. We're meeting the boys in the morning."

So they sneaked out of the kingdom, hoping they wouldn't meet a guard as it would be difficult to explain why they were suddenly interested in fishing…

The waves were a lot smoother going home and the two boys managed to get their boat in safely. After tying it up securely, they headed home, anxious to go somewhere private and talk about the next day. They ran home as fast as they could and when they reached their apartment, they locked the doors and shut up all the windows.

"Ha-ha!" burst out Shaggy. They both burst out laughing and roared for a good 5 minutes. It was only once they started to calm down that they were able to speak again. Even so, they still giggled.

"Can you believed that just happened? I mean…we just met two seemingly mythical creatures and have planned to see them again tomorrow!" exclaimed Shaggy. "Do you think it was a dream? Were we just hallucinating or something?"

"Rell, re'll find out tomorrow, won't re?" reasoned Scooby.

"Yeah…About tomorrow," Shaggy said slowly, thinking. "You think we should do something special? I don't know – wear something nice?"

"Do re have to?"

"Well…I think it would be nice. Hey, maybe we could take some food? I mean, she promised to bring us some fish – maybe we could bring a picnic and show her what humans eat? We could even eat some of the fish she brings. Yeah? It'd be a nice way to get to know each other."

"Rhat's a good idea."

"Yeah. We could sit and eat and talk – it'd be great! Okay, I think we should head to the shops and get some nice fresh food. Stuff we haven't got. Come on."

He grabbed his wallet and Scooby grabbed the bike. The bike was their only method of transport as it was the cheapest way to travel. Shaggy cycled down to the village with Scooby running beside him. They arrived at the small supermarket there and tied up the bike outside. Then they grabbed a trolley and started going round the aisles. As the two were so alike, they rarely disagreed over food (unless it was about who's eaten more of what) so they were quickly making a large pile in the trolley and working their way towards the tills.

That is until they met Jim Fox and his mates, who enjoyed making Shaggy's life hell. Scooby first spotted them and tried to make Shaggy turn back but it was too late – they'd been spotted and Jim, smirking, started sauntering towards them. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" His mates laughed.

"Excuse me," said Shaggy, trying to get past and wishing they would just disappear but Jim stepped right of front of the trolley. He wasn't as tall as Shaggy – neither were any of his mates – but he was more muscular and had friends on side to help him.

"Hey, where you going?" he asked. "We just wanted to say hello. So what are you shopping for?" He started rummaging through the trolley, to Shaggy's horror. "Hhmm…Interesting…Oh, nice…Hey, what's this?" He pulled out a box of chocolates and some flowers. "Now this is _very_ interesting. What are you doing with these? You usually only buy these when you're dating someone…Have you finally found a boyfriend?"

Scooby growled. "Ro! Rhaggy's met a girl!"

Jim glared. "…Did you _dumb_ dog just say you met a girl? I can barely understand him."

"Er…yes," muttered Shaggy, reluctantly.

Jim stared at him in shock – and then burst out laughing. His friends copied him (they seemed to have no minds of their own). "_What_…Seriously?" spluttered Jim, trying to speak whilst laughing. "You've met an actual _girl_? And – what – you're dating her? What's wrong with her? Is she desperate?"

"Hey!" cried Shaggy, starting to get angry. "No, she's not! We're not even dating!"

"But your dog just said-"

"Yeah, that I _met_ a girl – I kinda bumped into her the other day and we kinda became friends. He didn't say we were dating! And, by the way, my dog is not dumb! If anyone is dumb around here, it's…" Shaggy stopped talking, knowing if he wasn't careful he could get beat up.

"You'd better not finish that sentence, Rogers…When you say things like that, people get hurt," warned Jim, in a dangerous tone. "And you'd better not speak to me like that in that tone. It's not very nice! After all – I'm your _friend_. It's not very nice to upset your friends." Everyone around chuckled. "So you haven't got a girlfriend, huh? Well, _that's_ no surprise! I always knew you were gay. Maybe you can talk to her about boys!" They laughed again. "But if you're not dating – and if you only met her the other day – why are you buying these?" Jim asked, picking up the chocolates and flowers.

"…To try and be nice."

"Oh…" smiled Jim. "You have a crush on her, don't you? And she either doesn't know or doesn't feel the same so you're trying to impress her – am I right?" Shaggy said nothing, which only made Jim smile more. "Oh, ho, ho. I'm right! Well, well, well – who would have thought that you'd be pining for a girl?"

"I'm _not_ pining for a girl!" cried Shaggy, furiously. "And you don't know anything about her!"

"I know she'd never go out with you in a hundred years!" laughed Jim.

"Oh, yeah? Why not?"

"Well, let's face it, Shags. You're skinny and wimpy, you don't really look after your appearance so it's not like you're trying to attract girls," he said, looking at Shaggy's messy clothing and hair. "And you ain't exactly rich, are you? I mean, how are you going to impress a girl when you can barely feed yourself? I mean, come on! I bet you can even afford this!" Jim pulled the chocolates and flowers out of the trolley and put them on the nearest shelf. "What else is in here?"

He started rummaging through the shopping, pulling things out and throwing them on the floor. "No…No…Oh, you _so_ can't afford this…!" He finally grabbed the trolley and pulled it away from Shaggy. "Sorry, Shags, but I don't think you can afford any of this. I guess you'll just have to pass!" And with this statement, he tipped the trolley over.

"Rey!" cried Scooby, angrily. He started growling at Jim.

"You got something to say, dog?" asked Jim, smirking at Scooby. "Hey, Shag? You might wanna control your mutt before he does something bad and gets put down." Scooby immediately stopped growling and whined.

Jim and his mates walked away, laughing. The two stared after them, sadly. Shaggy sighed. "I'm sorry, Scoob. I'm sorry I let him say all that to you."

"Rhat about you?" asked Scooby. "Re was horrible to rou, too."

"Oh, I don't care – I'm more upset about what he said to you." Shaggy looked around at the mess. "You know, I think we better move – else they might make us clean up this mess and maybe even pay for it. I think we have enough food at home to make a good enough picnic. But I'm gonna take these." He picked up the chocolates and the flowers. They hurried away from the mess and headed to a till near the door.

They made it outside without being stopped but when they reached the bike, they stopped and stared in horror. The bike was no longer tied up – it was lying in a heap, totally trashed…unusable. "Oh, no," moaned Shaggy. Scooby went over and sniffed at the bike. He growled and looked around but there was nobody about – it was obvious who had done it, though.

They slowly made the walk home, Shaggy carrying the shopping bag. Once they arrived home, they started packing up a picnic basket with what they had. It wasn't as bad as they thought – food was always their top priority so they had quite a good selection. They found an old, wicker basket that was big enough to carry it all and they got a large blanket for sitting on (they packed it on top, along with the flowers). And they were ready for the next day.

"Rhaggy?" Scooby turned to look at his best friend and gave him a fixed stare.

"Yeah? What?"

"Rhat Jim said…Do rou like Raphne?"

Shaggy chuckled nervously. "What? Like, no. No, I don't…I don't like her! Well, I do _like_ her – she's nice and everything but…no. I don't…no?" Shaggy trailed off and stared into space. He actually wasn't sure.

Apart from Scooby, he'd never really had any friends or people that he could like. Daphne was the first new person that he'd liked for years – and as he wasn't used to liking anyone other than Scooby, he actually wasn't sure if what Jim said was true. The flowers and chocolates were just to try and please her so he wouldn't lose his new friend – but would it seem like they meant more?

Scooby smiled at Shaggy's look. He felt sure _he_ knew.

**Notes**: Okay, hope you enjoyed the chapter. It felt horrible writing the scene in the supermarket but I needed to show how bad Jim is and kinda bring back reality to Shaggy.

Although the exams have finished, I have been busy with other stuff and I've also been kinda stuck on what to write. I don't know when I'll write again but I am working on my stories – I just posted this so you knew I hadn't abandoned the site.


	5. Chapter 5 2nd Meeting

The Mermaid Tale

**Chapter Five** – 2nd Meeting

The next day, Shaggy and Scooby sailed out in their boat to the little hidden cove and found Daphne waiting for them. But she wasn't alone, of course. Amber was with her. The two had been up since first light, too excited to sleep. They'd collected not only fish but other seafood delights like lobster, mussels and seaweed – there were two large shell-baskets on the rock where Daphne sat. Amber was floating in the water beside her, looking forward to meeting the two boys.

The boat sailed in and just avoided hitting the rock. They tied a rope around a small, sharp rock to secure the boat and leaned over the boat's edge to see the girls. They stared at Amber. "Hello," said Shaggy, nodding at Amber before smiling at Daphne. Scooby, however, had yet to take his eyes off Amber.

"Hi, Shaggy," said Daphne. She smiled at Scooby. "I'd like you to meet my friend, Amber. She's a dogfish."

"Rello, Amber," said Scooby, dreamily.

Amber smiled at him, equally as entranced. "Hello."

"So, Shaggy," Daphne turned to him. "We got you some fish – all different kinds. We also got some lobsters, mussels, prawns and seaweed!"

"Seaweed?" Shaggy asked.

Daphne's smile faltered. "Don't you eat seaweed?"

"Em, no, not personally. Neither does Scooby. But the rest sounds delicious!"

Daphne's smile bloomed again. "Great! Hey, do you have picnics? Where you gather food and go out for the day? I thought we could eat some of this catch here and get to know each other."

"Really? I'd the same idea. We brought some food, too – not as nice as yours but I thought you'd like to try what we eat."

"Great! Come and help me set up; those two look busy." Scooby had now joined Amber in the water. The boys were more prepared this time – thinking they'd end up in the water, they'd put swimming trunks on. Shaggy took off his shoes and shirt, slid into the water and swam over to Daphne, holding the picnic basket over his head. He set the blanket out over the rock and the two laid the food over it. As he closed the basket, he caught Daphne admiring the blanket. It was just a simple, woollen blanket but obviously she'd never have come across wool before (he doubted merpeople had sheep).

"What's this made of?" asked Daphne. Okay, they definitely didn't have sheep.

"Wool. Like, it's made from an animal called a sheep."

"What does it look like?"

"It… I'll show you a photo sometime. I'll print one off the internet."

"What's an internet?"

Shaggy paused to look at her. Oh, there were so many differences between their worlds. On the way there, he'd wondered what on earth he could talk about in his life that might interest her. By the looks of things, that would be everything. Not to mention all the questions he had about her world.

They spent an enjoyable day together, the four of them: eating, swimming and talking. The two girls learned that the boys lived in a little house just outside of the town, along a little road through the trees. Shaggy was still at school but was doing various jobs to earn money. Daphne told the boys about how she lived and worked in the palace as a party-planner (she didn't want to tell them she was a princess, unsure of their reaction), and that she shared a little place with Velma and Amber.

The picnic was very interesting. The boys found it strange to be eating the fish raw but just tried to pretend it was sushi (luckily, they weren't picky eaters). What did surprise them was that the girls' teeth were like rocks – they crunched through the bones and the shells like they were nothing. Daphne was currently eating a lobster and was chewing right through a leg (and the claw, too). As for the girls, they were tasting steak and vegetables for the first time. Burgers, French fries, pizza, chocolate – they _loved_ the chocolate! When Shaggy nervously handed over the chocolate and flowers to Daphne, she was delighted – she decided to keep the box as it was 'so pretty' and keep examining the flowers with her nose, taking in the different scents.

The girls were interested to see how the guys swam and soon got them into the water. Scooby doggy-paddled, of course, and Shaggy was all arms and legs but after some tips, they managed to move more smoothly. Daphne took Shaggy's hand and pulled him down to the bottom where he could see the tunnel that led out into the ocean. "I live out there," she told him. He couldn't answer as his cheeks were filled with what little air he had left. Seeing this, she quickly pulled him to the surface.

"Wow," he coughed. "I wish I could last longer underwater but…I need air. I wonder if I could get scuba-tanks?"

"What?" Daphne looked at him.

"Oh, it's this container you put on your back that gives you air and lets you go underwater."

"Oh, no," cried Daphne. "I've met people like that before. Well, not met but seen. They come snooping around and nearly catch us. Luckily, we have some spells protecting the kingdom. There's a friendly witch who protects life under the water and she put some spells up so that humans can't find us – all they see is this blank wall. But no, you…you can't be like one of them. If nothing else, if the palace guards saw you, they'd probably attack you. Merpeople don't, as a rule, trust humans and they would attack you without question."

"Oh, ok. I, like, probably couldn't afford all the equipment anyway. I just wish I could see your home. It must be so cool. But I couldn't make it beyond that tunnel you just showed me."

"And I'd like to see your home, your way of life. If only…if only I could have legs and you could get a tail."

Shaggy laughed. "Well, yeah. Like, that would solve all our problems but…like that's ever gonna happen." He laughed and looked towards the sky. "Hey, it's getting pretty dark. What time is it?" He checked his watch (which he'd left on the rock to keep it from getting wet). "Zoinks! We gotta get back. Thanks so much for today. It was great! I don't think I'll be able to see you again during the week but can we come again next weekend?"

"Sure. I'd love that. And I suppose we'd better get back, too, before we're missed. Hey, Scooby? Amber? It's time to go." The two dogs had pretty much ignored the other two and were completely wrapped up in one another, fascinated with the other. "Do you think they even heard us? I thought dogs were supposed to have better hearing than us?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised at how deaf Scooby can go when I talk about him doing some cleaning or…maybe taking a bath."

Daphne giggled. Then she looked at him seriously. "Shaggy. If there was a way that we could see each other's worlds…would you try it?"

"Like, of course. But how can we do that? You're a mermaid so you can't walk on land. And I'm a human so I can't breathe underwater. But if there was some miraculous way, that would be great. Come on, Scoob! We gotta go home. I look forward to next weekend," he smiled softly at Daphne as he said the last part.

The two boys packed up, making sure they had the fish the girls had caught for them, and set sail for home. After they could no longer see the boat, the girls set off in the other direction. All the way home, they talked about the boys. Amber sighed as they neared the palace. "Oh, if only we could get the boys here. I bet they would like it. And I'd love to see their place."

"Yeah, me too." Daphne bit her lip, thinking of a possible way that could solve their problem. There was a week before Shaggy and Scooby were due to return. Plenty of time to her to go see that witch she was talking about…


End file.
